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They’re IQ tests, it’s that simple.

grumple 5y ago
They are memorization tests at best. At worst they test which candidates have been unemployed most recently so they can cram leetcode study.
- jasonladuke0311 5y ago
  > At worst they test which candidates have been unemployed most recently so they can cram leetcode study. Or which ones are young and single with no responsibilities outside of work. Which is likely a feature, not a bug.
  - rejectedandsad 5y ago
    I mean that describes me. But if you don’t have the mental acuity and length of short term memory required to solve these problems…
devnull3 5y ago
> correct base solution in the first 2-3 minutes Not only correct solution but also generate alternatives to showcase what other things you know to get strong-hire. Example: This problem was asked in Google: https://leetcode.com/problems/cat-and-mouse/ https://leetcode.com/problems/cat-and-mouse/ It is actually based on a paper [1]. Plus it seems it is expected that one needs to know about 'alpha-beta' pruning algos for such problems. If you solve this using dfs ... its basically gtfo [1] https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Undirected-Cat-and-Mouse-is-P-complete-Huq/2ee617f10fa115a94ff7b59a6120ff33dd1dde87?p2df https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Undirected-Cat-and-Mou...
- rejectedandsad 5y ago
  I don't know how I'm ever going to be happy. I just straight up don't have the intellect to be considered competent in this field. What's worse is how people downplay the difficulty of this or say it's easily gameable if you just "grind leetcode", as if the rest of us aren't trying already but failing because of our genetic failings.
  - VonGallifrey 5y ago
    When people say "grind leetcode" they don't mean it as a tool to get better at these kinds of problem solving. What they basically mean is that if you "grind leetcode" you have a better chance of being asked a question in these interviews that you have solved before and simply write down the solution during the interview.
loftyal 5y ago
If they're IQ tests, then why does doing a whole bunch of leetcode questions make me better at it? Isn't IQ supposed to be relatively stable throughout one's lifetime?
- rejectedandsad 5y ago
  I've done hundreds and I have gotten better, but only to a point. At some level it's not pattern recognition anymore, just inspiration. And I'm not smart enough for that. This one, for instance is expected to be completed in 30 minutes. I spent 2 hours on it yesterday and failed most test cases. I'm a failure. https://leetcode.com/problems/exam-room/ https://leetcode.com/problems/exam-room/
  - loftyal 5y ago
    Do thousands then and get back to me. It's all patterns, this "inspiration", is just patterns, your just not seeing it yet. Its true on some degree, that you need some intelligence, but I have a few close friends who are FAANG, they are definitely not the best developers I've ever worked with, only difference is they really really cared about getting into FAANG. Getting into FAANG was basically their life ambitions, so they dedicated literally all there spare time to it.
    - rejectedandsad 5y ago
      I dedicated a lot of my spare time to it in college (and after) too. What did I get for it? I make just $200k a year at the least impressive FAANG and literally everyone considers me to be a mental defective.

They are memorization tests at best. At worst they test which candidates have been unemployed most recently so they can cram leetcode study.

jasonladuke0311 5y ago
> At worst they test which candidates have been unemployed most recently so they can cram leetcode study. Or which ones are young and single with no responsibilities outside of work. Which is likely a feature, not a bug.
- rejectedandsad 5y ago
  I mean that describes me. But if you don’t have the mental acuity and length of short term memory required to solve these problems…

devnull3 5y ago

> correct base solution in the first 2-3 minutes Not only correct solution but also generate alternatives to showcase what other things you know to get strong-hire. Example: This problem was asked in Google: https://leetcode.com/problems/cat-and-mouse/ https://leetcode.com/problems/cat-and-mouse/ It is actually based on a paper [1]. Plus it seems it is expected that one needs to know about 'alpha-beta' pruning algos for such problems. If you solve this using dfs ... its basically gtfo [1] https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Undirected-Cat-and-Mouse-is-P-complete-Huq/2ee617f10fa115a94ff7b59a6120ff33dd1dde87?p2df https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Undirected-Cat-and-Mou...

rejectedandsad 5y ago
I don't know how I'm ever going to be happy. I just straight up don't have the intellect to be considered competent in this field. What's worse is how people downplay the difficulty of this or say it's easily gameable if you just "grind leetcode", as if the rest of us aren't trying already but failing because of our genetic failings.
- VonGallifrey 5y ago
  When people say "grind leetcode" they don't mean it as a tool to get better at these kinds of problem solving. What they basically mean is that if you "grind leetcode" you have a better chance of being asked a question in these interviews that you have solved before and simply write down the solution during the interview.

loftyal 5y ago

If they're IQ tests, then why does doing a whole bunch of leetcode questions make me better at it? Isn't IQ supposed to be relatively stable throughout one's lifetime?

rejectedandsad 5y ago
I've done hundreds and I have gotten better, but only to a point. At some level it's not pattern recognition anymore, just inspiration. And I'm not smart enough for that. This one, for instance is expected to be completed in 30 minutes. I spent 2 hours on it yesterday and failed most test cases. I'm a failure. https://leetcode.com/problems/exam-room/ https://leetcode.com/problems/exam-room/
- loftyal 5y ago
  Do thousands then and get back to me. It's all patterns, this "inspiration", is just patterns, your just not seeing it yet. Its true on some degree, that you need some intelligence, but I have a few close friends who are FAANG, they are definitely not the best developers I've ever worked with, only difference is they really really cared about getting into FAANG. Getting into FAANG was basically their life ambitions, so they dedicated literally all there spare time to it.
  - rejectedandsad 5y ago
    I dedicated a lot of my spare time to it in college (and after) too. What did I get for it? I make just $200k a year at the least impressive FAANG and literally everyone considers me to be a mental defective.